Do you find your inspectors competant?

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steveswitkin

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With the exception of ONE GUY, I do not.

Some of the things they ask for are baffeling and some of the stuff they pass is downright frightening.
 
Steve, welcome to the forum.

You're new here, so let me tell ya. Everyone loves a good rant thread. But you gotta "feed the fish", as my pappy would say. There's got to be some bait on the hook, or nobody will bite. :D

For the most part, inspectors in my area are well trained, experienced and competent.

I think you'll find the inspectors that frequent this site to be a goldmine of knowledge.

So, what happened? :)
 
iwire said:
It's a mix, great, average, poor, nuts, terifying.....much like the electricians I have met.
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... and engineers, and instrument techs, and CEOs, and project managers and ...
 
Inspectors

Inspectors

The inspectors around here seem to be pretty much on top of the NEC. Their personalities and how they deal with people are all different as to be expected, but all three of them here will take the time to show you where you "missed the boat" and explain why.
That's just my opinion of course, how the boss feels about them, and the NEC in some cases could make an entire thread of it's own.

iwire said:
It's a mix, great, average, poor, nuts, terifying.....much like the electricians I have met.
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Yep, that's it in a nut shell. Including me depending on the day of the week, time of day and the amount of caffine in my blood stream.
 
I've found the inspectors I deal with to be pretty good, with one exception. But she has since been fired. :D

There have only been a couple of occasions where the inspector pointed out something I missed, and the inspector was right. Except for the above incident, I've never been tagged for something that was bogus.
 
I had an inspector bust my chops on a commercial job about no ground tails.

We prefer to not use the prefab tails and wrap the circuit ground around the ground screw. (which was present in the boxes)

He then signed off on the entire rough inspection when all he was called for was an interior wall cover up so the sheetrockers could get going.

The raceways are not complete, the service has not been built and at this point the only wire that has been installed in the electrical system are the pig tails he wanted.

He doesn't care about pipe fill, box fill, wire gage, pipe straps, any of that minor stuff....

That was last Fridays stunner.

I know of large housing developments where ther are literally hundreds of houses that don't have wirenuts on ANY of the grounds....romex brought into flourescent fixture without any connector or even a bushing...just total garbage work that has been passed. Stuff so bad I changed employers over.
 
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For the most part Inspectors are overworked and underpaid. Some will have more inspections than could be done in a week but are expected to have them done in a day.

For the most part inspectors will do the job to the best of their ability but let?s remember that not everyone has the same ability.
Not all inspectors are as smart as Bob, Roger, George, Charlie, and the list goes on and on. Maybe if the governmental offices would stop requiring the inspectors to be cross trained some day one of them might be as smart as me. (This is an attempt to be humorous in case no one has figured that out yet. We all know that I am not very bright)

The only problem I have with some inspectors is with the ones I can?t communicate with. As long as the chain of communication is open there isn?t much of a problem.
My favorite line to the inspector is; ?sit down and shut-up stupid, I am trying to teach you something?
 
I see the same inspectors in different towns, I find them to be helpful. An inspector...like most electricians... can tell just by looking at a job if a pro or a DIY has done the work.
 
I find it rare that they dig keep on any commercial project, in the residential part they have combo inspectors who do it all , there are no pre-requisites for them to take their test and get a certification, these inspectors will walk in a house and ok the electrical part if they just see a 200 amp panel is installed, they just walk around and act like they looking at something but some of them don't have a clue and will not even ask 1 question because they would probaly make their self look stupid.
They pass anything in residential around here and its a rip-off for the homeowner because of some of the nasty work being done and ok'ed .
 
Almost to a man, (or woman) The inspectors I have dealt with are competent professionals. They are given too much IMO to inspect, so cannot do as thurough a job as possible, but thats not their fault. I did have one recently fail me for overloading boxes- He wouldn't allow the 4x4 plaster ring (marked with the cubic inches) be added into the box cubic inches- and wouldn't discuss it. But that is a rare execption, in my experience.
 
hockeyoligist2 said:
I fall under Nuts!
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I'm not sure I want to understand this line!

We must be lucky. I have never had a problem with an inspector that a simple conversation didn't fix. Usually, it's a simple matter of interpretation in an unusual situation, and more of a clarification than a real disagreement.
 
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Eh... not incompetent, but really rushed. Especially in this day of "combo inspectors", they really don't get the luxury of time. I've often had stuff "missed", but seldom do I get red tagged for something bogus. When I do get a bogus red tag, it's normally because the inspector didn't have the time to examine other prevailing issues that actually made that (supposed) non-conformity okay. I have yet to run into one of the "hard heads" so often described on this site. All of the inspectors that I deal with seem like they are being "extra nice" and trying purposely to not make you upset. These are inspection agency people, and not government employees, so that might be the big difference.
 
Do you find your inspectors competant?

Let's see- do I really want to say what I really think, at the risk of painting a bulls-eye on myself, should -heaven forbid- any of the local nebbishes actually visit this forum?

I strongly encourage the local inspectors to visit this, and other such forums. AFAIK, none have done so. Their loss.

I have found inspections to be, well, a silly little dance and largely a waste of time. Not that the inspectors are necessarily bad guys; they are simply "out of their element" when away from their desk.

STRIKE ONE: Here there is a deliberate decision to have only "combination" inspectors. Few of them know much about electrical work.

STRIKE TWO: Many of these inspectors have never worked a trade, and got their 'qualifications' from 9-month college programs. They have no idea of the sequence of work on a job site, no idea as to older / former / differing construction methods, or which trades do what work.

STRIKE THREE: Since they have not learned the trade, their knowledge is based upon the last seminar they went to. This means they all have the same list of five easy-to-see little details to be concerned with- and manage to totally ignore every other part of the job.

STRIKE FOUR: They fail to speak with other inspectors, and know only their little part of the job. The plans inspector has no idea what the Fire Marshall will be looking for, or how that might impact the contractors / tenants / building owners.
Now, if one inspector has an unpleasant experience at a job site, then they do somehow manage to communicate their displeasure to other inspectors, and everyone proceeds to come charging in with chips on their shoulders.
This sort of 'negative' communication does no one any favors. Many times these 'disagreements' are the result of poor plans, a part of the code that may not be clear, conflicting codes, or- dare I say it- an error on the part of the inspector. The "swarm" approach, in any event, only upsets the job, and results in every other contractor getting the 6th degree- even though they may not even be aware of the earlier dispute!

STRIKE FIVE: My personal pet peeve. When an inspector arrives on the job, I expect him to announce himself. Something along the lines of seeking someone out, and saying "Hi! I'm Joe from the city, and I"m here to inspect the framing." More common is for the guy to stroll right in, start poking about, and, when challenged, say "I'm The City of XXXX."
Look, absent an announcement, I have no idea who you are, or what you're up to. Nor is your slinking about helpful if I have instructions for others to be there for you! I'm sure you, more than most, are aware of the thefts / accidents / lookie-lou's that can upset a job site. If I'm up in the ceiling, call out 'hello,' and you ignore me.... my alarm factor just went up quite a bit.
Nor are you "THE CITY." You work for the city. You have a name, and an obligation to share it with me.
 
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